The criminal case against former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa under the POCSO Act, alleging that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl at his home in February 2024, was returned to the trial court by the Karnataka High Court.
On February 7, Justice Nagaprasanna issued the ruling while partially granting Mr. Yediyurappa’s petitions, in which he contested the complaint, the charge sheet the CID had filed against him, and the trial court’s recognition of the offense.
However, because it lacked justification for taking cognisance of the offenses, the court overturned the trial court’s decision of cognisance of the offenses against Mr. Yediyurappa based on the charge sheet and returned the case to the trial court for a new order.
The High Court clarified in the trial court’s July 4, 2024 order of taking cognisance that the crime, the investigation, and the charge sheet in the case are all still in place and are returned to the trial court for a suitable ruling on the charge sheet that the CID submitted while taking the High Court’s observations into consideration.
On behalf of Mr. Yediyurappa and the CID, the High Court made it plain that it has not addressed any of the arguments put up by either party, with the exception of the trial court’s decision taking cognizance of the offense. All issues are kept open, including all legal remedies available to the accused at the appropriate stage before the appropriate forum. Mr. Yediyurappa was granted anticipatory bail by the High Court. Copies of the rulings, which were rendered at approximately 10.40 a.m., have not yet been made public.
Mr. Yediyurappa had refuted the accusation, arguing that the witness statements and the pieces of evidence showed that there was no chance at all that the sexual assault incident would occur. He also maintained that he never took the girl into a room, as the victim and her mother had claimed. But according to the CID, the child voluntarily testified before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, confirming the sexual assault; as a result, a full trial is warranted.
